A leader with heart

Department chair values compassion and education

Rodrigo Carbonel / Roundup

It was June 1967 in the Republic of Biafra, during the Nigerian Civil War, when then-14-year-old Leland Shapiro helped a family hide in his home from the Nigerian army.

Because of helping the family, he was ordered to leave the country. He went to Israel for a year and a half, but it wasn’t long before he was driven out for war reasons. Eventually, he made it to Los Angeles.

As a young man, he learned the importance of helping others from his grandfather who, upon coming to the United States, was treated miserably, he said.

“His story taught me compassion for other people,” Shapiro said.

Ever since he was a kid, his roots pulled him toward teaching and helping both people and animals.

Now, Dr. Shapiro, 58, is the chair of the Agriculture and Natural Resources department and the director of the Pre-Veterinary Science program.

He has been teaching at Pierce College for the past 40 years, and he says he loves his job. In fact, he says that he still wants to teach for five more years.

“I am the most fortunate teacher,” Shapiro said. “Every one of my students works very hard. If I would’ve won the lottery, I would still be doing what I do now.”

He has had 179 students who are either going or have gone to veterinary schools, but he plans to get to 200 students before he retires.

Dr. Leland Shapiro poses in front of an American flag hanging from a wall in his office. The flag was given to him by former students who served as soldiers in the Iraq War.

Victor Kamont / Roundup

He has taught 35 different classes while at Pierce and has gone on to write 16 different books on Veterinary Science.

In addition to that, Shapiro is also a member of the board of directors for the Society of Veterinary and Medical Ethics.

Under his leadership, the PreVeterinary Club has, since 1987, partners with the Walking Shield American Indian Society for the organization’s annual holiday drive, providing clothes, food, and school supplies to those in need.

“I get a lot of help from the [Pierce] administration, faculty members, and students,” he said.

“Without them I couldn’t do it.”

In addition to providing supplies to kids, the drive encourages the kids to pursue education.

“I can help people by providing an education,” he said.

He also finds a way of encouraging education here on campus.

All the proceeds he will get off his last book - which he hopes to get published by the end of the yeargoes to a scholarship his department set up through the Pierce College Foundation.

“[The scholarship] will help people pay for books and tuition,” he said. “I would like to give other people opportunities to get an education.”

On July 6 of this year, Shapiro was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, one that was successfully removed 13 days later in an eighthour surgery procedure at CedarsSinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Even though Shapiro is still recuperating and regaining full control of mechanical functions. like breathing, swallowing, and talking, he is still very much active at teaching and guiding his Pre-Veterinarian students to a better future.

“I love coming to work,” he said. “When I was in the hospital, I told the doctor, ‘You don’t understand. Going to work is going to make me better.”

He even describes Pierce College as “a family.”

“When I was in the hospital, lots of faculty and administrators visited me,” he said. “We don’t consider each other as colleagues, but as family.”